Intermittent strip feeding mechanism



Aug. 7, 1962 K. F. OLDENBURG ETAL 3,048,253

INTERMITTENT STRIP FEEDING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5, 1960 "'l/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA IIIIII Aug. 7, 1962 K. F. OLDENBURG ETAL 3,048,253

INTERMITTENT STRIP FEEDING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 5, 1960 m hf mm Patented Aug. 7, 1962 3,048,253 INTERMITTENT STRIP FEEDING MECHANESM Kenneth F. Oldenburg, Monterey Park, and Fred N.

Schwend, El Monte, Calif., assignors to Clary Corporation, San Gabriel, Califi, a corporation of California Filed May 5, 1960, Ser. No. 27,173

10 Claims. (Cl. 197-133) This invention relates to an electromechanical paper or strip feeding mechanism particularly applicable to form printing where forms are arranaged in an end-to-end relation.

Previous paper advance mechanisms of this type have had an excess of both mechanical and electrical components thereby making it impractical to provide this feature in a low cost machine.

An object of the present invention is to automatically advance the paper either one print line, a double print line, or at the completion of a printing operation on one form, to automatically advance to the first line of the next form in preparation for the next print operation.

Another object is to advance the paper as above described with a minimum of components while retaining the maximum of paper speed and reliability.

Another object is to provide means so that any time during an operation the operator may select a different line spacing or advance the paper to the next form at will.

The manner in which the above and other objects of the invention are accomplished will be readily understood on reference to the following specification when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the mechanism incorporated in a preferred form of the present invention, including a wiring diagram of the circuit controlling said mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the commutator disc and related pawl.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing the platen and associated parts in their assembled positions.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an alternate form of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the platen and related parts of FIG. 4.

A paper feed platen orfeeding means 9 (FIG. 1) is rotatably supported on ball bearings 11, said bearings having their inner races mounted on a shaft 12 rotatably supported in bearings formed in side frames 13 and 14. The shaft is continuously rotated by a motor 30 and has mounted thereon a sun gear 15 .(FIG. 1) of a planetary type clutch assembly generally indicated at 16. 'A commutator disc 17 having ratchet teeth spaced about its outer periphery is rotatably mounted on the shaft 12.

The clutch assembly 16 comprises the sun gear and a plurality of planetary gears 19 rotatably mounted on respective shafts 18, said shafts 18 being rigidly secured to said platen 9 and to said commutator disc 17. The planetary gear-s 19 mesh with the sun gear 15 and with an internal gear 21, said internal gear 21 having ratchet teeth formed on the outer periphery thereof.

A control lever 22, being pivotally mounted on a fixed shaft 23, has oppositely extending pawls 24 and for selectively engaging the ratchet teeth 10 and 20 of the respective commutator disc 17 and internal gear 21.

An e'lectromagnet 26, upon energization, attracts an arm 27 of the lever 22 to thereby rock the lever 22 clockwise about the shaft 23, disengaging said pawl 24 from ratchet teeth 10 and engaging pawl 25 with the ratchet teeth 20. Accordingly, said ring gear 21 is arrested from free rotation and the planetary gears are forced to follow an epicyclic path-about the sun gear 15.

The platen 9 and the commutator disc 17, being attached to the shaft 18, will be advanced as the planetary gears move through their orbit about the sun gear 15 until the magnet 26 is deenergized, allowing a spring 28 to rock the lever 22 counterclockwise, thereby reengaging, the pawl 24 with the ratchet teeth 10' to arrest the platen 9 and disengaging pawl 25 from ratchet teeth 29, allowing gear 21 to rotate idly.

The means for selectively energizing the electromagnet 26 comprises an actuating switch 29, a self-locking relay 31, manually set double and triple line spacing switches 32 and 33, respectively, and a set of stationary brushes 34 having wiping engagement with the aforementioned commutator disc 17.

The commutator disc 17 consists of a conducting surface 35 having a plurality of concentric rings of insulating spots 36 thereon, each ring representing a different amount of line spacing. That is, ring 37 represents a single line spacing, ring 38 represents a double line spacing, ring 39 represents a triple line spacing, and spot 41 represents an advance to the first line of the next form.

To operate the above mechanism, an operator first selects, through switches 32 and 33, the desired line spacing. If single line spacing is desired neither switch is closed and a line 42 will control the operation. Having selected the desired line spacing, the operator momentarily closes the switch 29 to allow current to flow from a ground source 43 through a coil 44 of the relay 31 and the switch 29 to a source of 40 volts. The current flow through the coil 44 will energize the relay 31 to close self-locking contacts 46.

The closing of the contacts 46 will connect the source of ground potentials 43 through the said contacts, through the aforeselected closed line spacing switch 32 or 33, the respective brush 34, the conducting surface 35, a stationary brush 47, line 48 and magnet 26, to a source of -40 volts thereby energizing said magnet to engage said clutch as aforedescribed. If neither switch 32 nor 33 has been closed the foregoing circuit will be closed through line 42.

As the platen 9 and the commutator disc 17 reach the selected line space an insulated spot 36 will wipe across the respective brush, breaking the circuit and thereby deenergizingmagnet 26 to disengage said clutch. At the same time, the breaking of the circuit will deenergize the relay 31 opening its contacts 46.

Advancement of the platen to the next form is accom- V plished by the closing of a switch 49 (FIG. 1) to thereby complete a circuit from a source of ground potential 51 through a coil 52 of a self-locking relay 53, to a source of '40 volts. The current passing through the coil 52 energizes the relay 53 to close its contacts 54, thereby completing a circuit from ground potential source 51 through coil 52, contacts 54, line 55, brush 56, commutator disc 17, and out the brush 47 and its respective line 48 to the magnet 26, thereby rocking the clutch lever 22 to effect advancement of the platen.

As the platen advances the paper to the first line of the next form, the insulated spot 41 passes under the brush 56, breaking the circuit to the magnet, thereby disengaging the clutch and also deenergizing the coil 52 to open contacts 54 of the self-locking relay 53.

A centralizer arm 63 rota-tably mounted on a shaft 64, carries at one end a roller 65 which rides, under the pressure of a spring 66, on the ratchet teeth 10 of the commutator disc 17 so that as a brush wipes across an insulated spot on the commutator disc breaking the circuit, the centralizer arm, through the roller 65, will rotate the commutator a slight extra amount to thereby place the brushes back on the conducting surface in preparation for the next operation.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a modified form of the invention I19 for advancing a paper feed sprocket for both line spacing and form feeding.

A shaft 71 rotatably mounted in side members 72 (only one member being shown) carries a sprocket 73, and a ratchet wheel 74 keyed thereon. A triangular plate 75 is freely mounted in the shaft. The plate 75 has loosely pivoted on one corner a pawl 76 which is held in engagement with the said ratchet wheel 74 by a spring 77 tensioned between the pawl and the plate 75. A cam follower 7S is connected through a pin and slot combination 80 to the plate 75, said cam follower being pivotally mounted on a stud 79 and having at its opposite end a roller 81 for engagement with a cam 82 mounted on a continuously rotating shaft 83. Said follower is urged in a clockwise rotation by a tension spring 8d, but is normally prevented from rotation by a blocking lever 69 lying in the path of an car 85 of the cam follower 78. The lever 69 forms the armature of an electromagnet '68 and is pivoted on the frame thereof at 70 and normally held in latching engagement with the follower 78 by a spring 86 tensioned between a pin 87 and the lever 69.

Line spacing is accomplished by the application of a pulse from a paper space amplifier, generally indicated at 67, which will energize the magnet 68 thereby lifting the blocking lever 69 to allow clockwise rocking of the follower 73.

Upon rocking of the follower 78, the aforementioned ear 85 will strike a second blocking lever 88 whereby the pawl 76 will have been retracted over one tooth on the ratchet wheel 74 in preparation for a single line space. As the cam 82 rotates it now rocks the follower 78 counterclockwise sufficiently to advance the ratchet wheel one tooth and thereby advance the sprocket 73 one line space.

A switch 89, when closed, will connect magnet 63 in parallel with a magnet 91, so that upon energization,

both magnets 63 and 91 will attract their respective blocking levers or armatures 69 and 88 upwardly,

allowing thefollower 78 to rock an additional amount until the roller 81 rests on the periphery of the cam 82 and the upper ear 85 reaches a position indicated by dot-dash lines 189, in preparation for a double line spacing.

The energization of the magnets lasts for only a short duration so that at the time the cam 82 rocks the follower 78 about its pivot stud 79, the blocking levers 69 and 88 will have been returned to their lowered positions by their respective springs 86 and 88a. The returning of the follower to its latched position will, through the plate 75 and pawl 76 combination, rotate the ratchet wheel 74 and therefore the sprocket 73, the respective amount desired. During this movement the ear will wipe past the blocking levers 59 and 88.

To advance the platen to the first line of the next form a switch 92 is closed, allowing current to flow from a source of positive potential 93 to a stationary brush 94 of a brush assembly 95. From the brush 94 the current passes through a conductive surface on the ratchet 74,

to a brush 97, over a line 98 to pass through a coil 99 of a self-locking relay 101 to a source of ground potential 102.

The energizing of the coil 99 will close a set of relay contacts 103 and 104, whereby contacts 103 will allow the flow of current to pass over a line 105 to a source of ground potential 106, thereby allowing the opening of the switch 92 at any desired time without breaking the circuit.

Contacts 104 allow a flow of current from a source 'of ground potential 107 through the contacts, over the line 108 to the magnet 68 and possibly, also, magnet 91. The magnets being held energized will therefore hold their respective blocking levers 69' and 88 up, so that each time the cam 92 rotates, the follower 78 will advance the ratchet wheel 74 two line spaces and then fall back in preparation for the next cycle of the cam.

Each cycle of the cam 82 will advance the ratchet wheel 74 two line spaces, until an insulated spot 117 passes under the brush 97 thereby breaking the circuit so as to deenergize the relay 101 and therefore allow blocking lever 69 to relatch the cam follower.

Although we have described our invention in detail in its preferred embodiment and have therefore utilized certain terms and language herein, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative rather than restrictive and that changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what we desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1, In a machine for feeding a record strip, said strip comprising forms arranged in end-to-end relation, a drive means, a feeding means for said strip, a clutch interposed between said drive means and said feeding means, an electromagnetic means for controlling said clutch, a commutator having insulated spots thereon, means for rotating said commutator and said feeding means in synchronism, stationary brushes having wiping engagement with said commutator, a self locking circuit comprising means for selecting desired line spacing, and a second self locking circuit comprising means for causing said feeding means to advance said strip to the next form, said locking circuits being connected to said electromagnetic means through said brushes and said commutator for engaging and disengaging said clutch.

2. In a machine for feeding a record strip,vsaid strip comprising forms arranged in end-to-end relation, a feeding means for said strip, a commutator having electrical contacts thereon, means for driving said commutator and said feeding means in synchronism, stationary brushes having wiping engagement with said commutator, control means for said driving means comprising an electromagnetic means; a self locking circuit, individual circuits, each including a selectively settable switch, connecting said locking circuit to respective ones of said brushes, an additional circuit connecting said electromagnetic means to one of said brushes, and means for energizing said locking circuit for connecting said commutator through certain of said brushes to said electromagnetic means whereby to control said driving means to advance said strip.

3. In a machine for feeding a record strip, a drive means, feeding means for said strip, a clutch interposed between said drive means and said feeding means, means comprising an electromagnet for engaging said clutch, a commutator device having rows of insulated spots thereon, a brush device comprising brushes in wiping contact with said commutator device in the path of respective ones of said rows of spots, means for moving one of said devices relative to the other in synchronism with said feeding means, and strip spacing control circuits through respective ones of said brushes and said commutator device and said electromagnet, each of said circuits including a normally open control switch.

4. In a machine for feeding a record strip, said strip comprising forms arranged in end-to-end relation, a drive means, a feeding means for said strip, a clutch interposed between said drive means and said feeding means, means comprising an electromagnet for engaging said clutch, a commutator device having a row of insulated spots thereon representing the positions of printing lines on one of said forms, said commutator device having an additional insulated spot representing the first printing line on a succeeding form, a brush device comprising a brush in wiping contact with said commutator device in the path of said row of spots and a second brush in wiping contact with said commutator device in the pathvof said additional spot, means for moving one of said devices relative to the other in synchronism with said feeding means, and line spacing control circuits through respective ones of said brushes and said commutator device and said electromagnet, each of said circuits including a normally open control switch.

5. In a machine for feeding a record strip, said strip comprising forms arranged in end-to-end relation, a drive means, a feeding means for said strip, a clutch interposed between said drive means and said feed ng means, means comprising an electromagnet for engagrng said clutch, a commutator device having a row of 1nsulated spots thereon representing the positions of printing lines on one of said forms, said commutator having an additional insulated spot representing the first printing line of a'succeeding form, a brush device comprising a brush in wiping contact with said commutator device in the path of said row of spots and a second brush in wiping contact with said commutator device in the path of said additional spot, means for moving one of said devices relative to the other in synchronism with said feeding means, a strip spacing control circuit through one of said brushes and said commutator device and said electromagnet including a self-locking relay, and a second strip spacing control circuit through the other of said brushes and said commutator device and said electromagnet including a second self-locking relay.

6. In a machine for feeding a record strip, said strip comprising forms arranged in end-to-end relation, a drive means, a feeding means for said strip, a clutch interposed between said drive means and said feeding means, an electromagnetic means for controlling said clutch, a commutator device having insulated spots thereon, a brush device comprising brushes in wiping engagement with said commutator, means for moving one of said devices relative to the other in synchronism with said feeding means, a self-locking circuit comprising means for selecting desired line spacing, and a second self-locking circuit comprising means for causing said feeding means to advance said strip to the next form, said locking circuits being connected to said electromagnetic means through respective ones of said brushes and said commutator for engaging and disengaging said clutch.

7. In a machine for feeding a record strip, a drive means, a rotatable feeding means for said strip, normally disabled transmission means between said drive means and said feeding means comprising a sun gear driven by said drive means, a planetary gear driven by said sun gear and rotatably supported by said feeding means, an internal gear driven by said planetary gear, means including an electromagnet for arresting said internal gear whereby to cause said sun gear to drive said feeding means, a commutator device having a row of insulated spots and an additional spot, a brush device comprising a first brush having wiping engagement with said commutator device in the path of said row of spots and a second brush having wiping engagement with said commutator in the path of said additional spot, means operatively connecting one of said devices to said feeding means whereby to effect relative movement between said devices, and strip spacing control circuits through respective ones of said brushes and said commutator and said electromagnet, each of said circuits including a normally open control switch.

8. In a machine for feeding a record strip, a drive means, a rotatable feeding means for said strip, normally disabled transmission means between said drive means and said feeding means comprising a sun gear driven by said drive means, a planetary gear driven by said sun gear and rotatably supported by said feeding means, an internal gear driven by said planetary gear, means including an electromagnet for arresting said internal gear whereby to cause said sun gear to drive said feeding means, a commutator operatively connected to said feeding means, said commutator having a row of insulated spots and an additional insulating spot, a first brush having wiping engagement with said commutator in the path of said row of spots, a second brush having wiping engagement with said commutator in the path of said additional spot, and strip spacing control circuits through respective ones of said brushes and said commutator and said electromagnet, each of said circuits including a normally open control switch.

9. In a machine for feeding a record strip, a drive means, a rotatable feeding means for said strip, normally disabled transmission means between said drive means and said feeding means comprising a sun gear driven by said drive means, a planetary gear driven by said sun gear and rotatably supported by said feeding means, an internal gear driven by said planetary gear, a control device effective in one position to arrest said feeding means and effective in a second position to arrest said internal gear, means normally maintaining said control device in said first position, an electromagnet for moving said control device to said second position whereby to cause said sun gear to drive said feeding means, a commutator operatively connected to said feeding means, said commutator having a row of insulated spots and .an additional insulating spot, a first brush having wiping engagement with said commutator in the path of said row of spots, a second brush having wiping engagement with said commutator in the path of said additional spot, and strip spacing control circuits through respective ones of said brushes and said commutator and said electromagnet, each of said circuits including a control switch.

10. In a machine for feeding a record strip, said strip comprising forms arranged in end-to-end relation, a drive means, a feeding means for said strip, .a clutch interposed between said drive means and said feeding means, electromagnetic means for controlling said clutch, a commutator having insulated spots thereon, means for rotating said commutator and said feeding means in synchronism, stationary brushes having Wiping engagement with said commutator, a self-locking circuit comprising means for selecting desired line spacing, said locking circuit being effective to unlock upon wiping of a said brush against a said spot, and means operable upon unlocking of said locking circuit for advancing said feeding means and said commutator to move said last mentioned spot out of wiping engagement with said last mentioned brush.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,951,517 Maul Mar. 20, 1934 1,976,603 Dicke et a1. Oct. 9, 1934 2,138,646 Scharr Nov. 29, 1938 2,348,059 Daly May 2, 1944 2,584,817 Sill Feb. 5, 1952 

